At the outset, I congratulate Mr. Csaba Korosi on his election as President of the General Assembly at its seventy- seventh session and wish him every success in conducting its work. I also pay tribute to Mr. Abdulla Shahid, the outgoing President of the General Assembly, for the dynamism with which he led the work of the seventy-sixth session. I further commend Secretary- General Antonio Guterres and wish him every success at this difficult time of multiple and complex crises throughout the world. We reiterate to him Chad’s full friendship and support.
The seventy-seventh session, whose theme is “A watershed moment: transformative solutions to interlocking challenges”, is taking place at a time when humankind is facing a multitude of challenges unprecedented since the creation of our Organization. They are serious, complex and successive challenges to our collective efforts and difficult to address. The current international order, based on the Charter of the United Nations, is being severely tested, for instance, by the geopolitical tensions in several parts of our planet, including those caused by the ongoing war in Ukraine, with its impact on the affected civilian populations and on the entire world at the economic, food security and energy supply levels.
One of the difficult experiences we have faced was the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic that plunged our lives into a state of great upheaval. Today the world is struggling to recover from the shock of COVID-19. We have lived through that unprecedented challenge, enduring the loss of millions of human lives and its adverse health, social and economic consequences. The recent lull in the situation should not lead us to relax; rather, it should prompt us to further consolidate the multilateral cooperation we witnessed when States and organizations came together and supported each other to overcome the scourge. We hope to see a further consolidation of that multilateral cooperation, particularly in addressing other persistent and recurrent crises and challenges such as wars, terrorism, climate change, health and food crises and poverty.
This session is therefore an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to the principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations and to reiterate our collective commitment to realizing them, in particular through the implementation of the recommendations made in the declaration on the commemoration of the seventy-fifth anniversary of the United Nations (resolution 75/1). The time has come to take practical measures to achieve those objectives by correcting the many mistakes that have led to the recurrent problems hindering the work of the international community and preventing the full realization of the promises contained in the Charter.
In that regard, the Secretary-General’s Our Common Agenda initiative, which is an action plan aimed at strengthening and accelerating the implementation of multilateral agreements, in particular the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and making a concrete difference in the lives of people, is particularly welcome. It is indeed an important step in the right direction. Chad fully supports the initiative and hopes that it will lead to the promotion, strengthening and prioritization of multiple concrete solutions to the major challenges of our time and have a real impact on the lives of the people, particularly those in poor countries, rather than being a sham of multilateralism that is limited only to lengthy statements that have no real effect.
In that regard, it is clear that seven years after the adoption of the 2030 Agenda and three years since its proclamation here in New York, the results of implementing the Sustainable Development Goals are still far from being achieved, especially for poor countries. As the Secretary-General’s reports on that issue have mentioned, those goals will not be met, and many people will be left behind, if bold action is not taken. Unfortunately, a downward spiral may be set off and cause disappointment in the hearts of millions of people around the world. That is why, in the wake of the declaration on the commemoration of the seventy- fifth anniversary of the United Nations, the Secretary- General’s Our Common Agenda initiative gives us hope that our legitimate expectations regarding international agreements and programmes, first and foremost the 2030 Agenda, can be realized.
All our actions converge towards sustainable development, but development is only possible where there is lasting peace and security. That is why the efforts of our States to achieve those objectives require increased and continuous support. The international commitments made to that effect through the 2030 Agenda, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, the New Urban Agenda and all other international agendas must be honoured if we are to achieve the ultimate goal of ensuring that no one is left behind and having a planet that is fit to live on and can be passed on safely and proudly to succeeding generations.
To that end, in the face of mounting and accumulating challenges, it is crucial to strengthen the existing commitments made by virtue of the indispensable solidarity that binds our States together, especially the rich and the poor, through development assistance, on the one hand, and the implementation of economic and financial empowerment mechanisms, as well as sustainable development policies in favour of the least developed and landlocked developing countries, on the other.
Despite geopolitical emergencies and various constraints, any approach or attempt to limit development aid would be counterproductive and could increase crisis situations in the world. Chad therefore calls on donor countries to maintain and increase development assistance through the United Nations, which provides unlimited assistance to hundreds of millions of people around the world whose very survival depends on it.
I cannot but also mention the issue of debt, which continues to place an unbearable burden on many developing countries, including Chad. That burden constitutes a real problem, hampering post-COVID-19 recovery, economic recovery and the implementation of sustainable development programmes. Debt relief therefore remains an urgent need to promote economic recovery in low-income countries and reverse the gloomy outlook for the global economy. From that perspective, Chad reiterates its commitment to the various needs and initiatives to cancel or restructure the debt of developing countries. I also want to call for the swift implementation of the facilities granted to my country, Chad, within the framework of the initiatives that various multilateral bodies have taken in order to enable us to respond to the pressing needs of our people, who already face the accumulating challenges of economy, humanitarian emergencies, insecurity caused by terrorist threats, the negative effects of climate change, the food crisis and others.
Regarding the political situation in my country, as the General Assembly knows, we have been undergoing a period of political transition since 20 April 2021. I can tell everyone now that the transitional process is progressing satisfactorily. The Transitional Military Council, headed by General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, and the Transitional Government, are committed to ending that process and achieving lasting peace leading to rebuilding the Chadian State awaited by the Chadian people. Our inclusive and sovereign national dialogue, which is now under way, should lead to the holding of democratic, free and transparent elections. The dialogue brings together all the nation’s active forces and ensures the participation of political and military movements, made possible thanks to the Doha agreement signed on 8 August.
I take this opportunity to express from this rostrum the deep gratitude of the Government and the people of Chad to the Government of the State of Qatar, headed by His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad A1 Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar, who kindly hosted and facilitated the pre-dialogue between the Government of Chad and the political and military groups. The inclusive and sovereign national dialogue, in which all segments of the Chadian society participate — including political parties, civil society, politicians, military staff, professional organizations, women, youth, people with special needs, expatriates, civil and religious leaders, defence and security forces and others — is a historic opportunity for Chadians to decide, in full sovereignty, how to rebuild their country.
Participants in the dialogue have discussed all issues related to the future of Chad in complete honesty, freedom and sovereignty. The outcome of the dialogue will be implemented and binding on all. Chad is counting on its partners to support and finance the implementation of the dialogue’s ensuing decisions and recommendations. Of course, some have opted not to take part in that historic dialogue. Endeavours are being undertaken to persuading those brothers and sisters to reconsider their choice and join the dialogue.
In terms of security and development, the situation in the Sahel and the Lake Chad region has become extremely worrisome and continues to deteriorate due to many factors, including institutional changes in many countries of the region, the dismantling of military counter-terrorism units, the effects of climate change leading to increased food insecurity due to the lack of an appropriate response, uncontrolled illegal migration and unchecked growth in illicit trafficking.
With regard to the security situation, we note the resurgence of terrorist activities in the Sahel, which has been relentless in its spread to neighbouring regions in West Africa, especially Togo, Burkina Faso and Benin, where terrorist attacks have taken place. In the light of the continued deterioration of the situation, Chad has continuously called for a new approach to the situation in the Sahel so as to better adapt our responses.
In that regard, Chad welcomes the initiative of the United Nations and the African Union, in partnership with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Group of Five for the Sahel (G-5 Sahel) to conduct a joint strategic assessment of the situation in the Sahel and the appointment of the former President of the Niger, His Excellency Mr. Mahamadou Issoufou, to head the Independent High-level Panel on Security and Development in the Sahel, responsible for conducting the assessment. We have no doubt that President Issoufou and his team will carry out an in-depth analysis of the problems plaguing the subregion and propose solutions to help us readapt the response to a multidimensional crisis that, despite the solutions already implemented, continues to deteriorate year after year.
It is true that the Sahel does not lack strategies or plans to address the crisis. The States of the Sahel and their bilateral and multilateral partners have implemented measures that have been in place for almost 20 years, with results that have fallen short of our expectations. The strategic assessment will therefore enable us to understand the causes, although we already know that the terrorism which is spilling blood in the Sahel cannot be defeated without the restoration of peace and State authority in Libya.
The many initiatives adopted by Member States at the national and subregional levels continue to suffer greatly from the lack of adequate resources for their implementation. The G-5 Sahel Joint Force, for example, is struggling to find sustainable and predictable resources to carry out its activities adequately. That is why Chad once again calls on its partners to support the G-5 Sahel in order to prevent the region from plunging deeper into violence and chaos. I reiterate the call of the G-5 Sahel Heads of State for sustainable and predictable funding from United Nations assessed contributions for the Joint Force.
With regard to the internal situation of the G-5 Sahel, it has seen the withdrawal of the sisterly Republic of Mali. We regret that withdrawal, as Mali was a founding member of the organization. Its place will be preserved. We will not be able to defeat terrorism or achieve stability and development in the Sahel unless we all join the struggle and pool our capabilities. We hope that our Malian brothers will reconsider their decision and rejoin our joint organization. The door of the G-5 Sahel remains wide open to them.
With regard to the situation in Libya, Chad is concerned about the persistence of the political impasse related to the clashes that took place in Tripoli on 26 and 27 August. Chad once again urges the Libyan political actors to prioritize dialogue in order to end the ongoing crisis and continue implementing the agreed elections agenda. Chad encourages the international community, in particular the United Nations and the African Union, to pursue efforts to bring the positions of the various parties to the conflict closer together and foster political dialogue, as the Libyan crisis will be resolved only through peaceful means and a Libyan-led inclusive political dialogue.
The persistence of the conflict in Libya poses a permanent threat to neighbouring countries and the entire Sahel region, for which Chad has paid and continues to pay a heavy price. In that regard, Chad once again reiterates its call on the Security Council and the Secretary-General to implement the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration process, which represents a lasting solution to the issue of its nationals engaged with the various Libyan military factions.
With regard to Cuba, Chad calls for the lifting of the economic and trade embargo imposed by the United States Government on that country, which continues to weigh heavily on the lives of its people.
Concerning the reform of the Security Council—the organ responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security — Chad once again urges Member States to move from talk to action on implementing that reform and lifting the historical injustice against the African continent, which excludes it from full and fair participation in that organ. In that regard, Chad will continue to fully support the Common African Position, as set forth in the Sirte Declaration and other relevant conventions.
In conclusion, I wish the General Assembly every success in carrying out its tasks.